Chapter 19: Danzo

To say it had been a bad evening was an understatement. Things had been completely fine. And then they hadn't been. Three quarters of ANBU were in the hospital and those who weren't were not in any decent fighting shape. Hiruzen compared it to his transition back into office after the untimely death of the Fourth.

It'd been such a good evening too. He'd finished all his paperwork and was at home relaxing. And then the entire village was awoken to the sounds of combat. He'd made all haste getting out the door and heading off towards the commotion. He remembered the slight panic as he passed ANBU after ANBU lying on the ground either passed out or in agony.

And the source? Itachi Uchiha, one of the last people he'd expected. Half the Uchiha compound had been razed by the battle. He'd cloaked himself in an orange chakra construct and was easily fending off Konoha's elite. The expression on his face was one he wasn't liable to forget. Then Danzo showed up while he was trying to assess the situation, at which point he stepped in.

Of course this was a different account than what he'd recorded within the paperwork. The paperwork version was a concise and factual retelling of the story, without his emotion. Among the things of the night that troubled him, three stuck out: the disappearance of the Uchiha Clan, Danzo Shimura, and the masked man that had abducted Itachi.

"Bring him in," he told two of the remaining ANBU. There was no use delaying it any longer. He needed to find out what exactly had happened that led to Itachi's rebellion. Danzo was brought before him, with a few precautionary measures in place.

"Are these really necessary?" He asked, gesturing as best he could to the few seals on his body.

"I'm afraid they are, until I find out exactly what happened tonight." Hiruzen looked at him expectantly.

"The Uchiha took a different path than overthrowing you. My operatives informed me of their plan and I ordered them to act. I didn't account for Itachi's skill allowing them to escape anyways." He explained it in the same way he filled out reports for Hiruzen, cold, detached.

"Any ideas what spurred them to act tonight?" He just wanted to make sure of one last thing.

"If I had to guess, it would be Itachi's return from his missions." He remained impassive. Hiruzen chewed on the end of his pipe.

"I have my doubts, Danzo," he explained, "One of our most loyal shinobi doesn't turn against his village without reason."

"Itachi was never loyal," Danzo cut in. "It was a ploy by their clan to gain your trust so they could leave unhindered." Silence.

"You seem pretty insistent upon this, Danzo. Do you have any information that I do not?" He asked. "Because I'm not fully convinced Itachi would revolt as he did without reason."

"You said the same thing about Orochimaru and his experiments," Danzo said. "You can't be blinded by whatever fondness you have for Itachi. He was a traitor to his village."

"I'll wait for one more thing before I say anymore." Danzo looked at him, waiting for an explanation. Hiruzen remained silent. A few minutes later, a masked ANBU joined them.

"I have finished my investigation." He addressed the hokage. "In addition to what I informed you of earlier, the corpses of Fugaku Uchiha, Mikoto Uchiha, and Sasuke Uchiha were found in their home, along with a number of others."

Danzo was annoyed. He was explaining everything to Hiruzen and he still couldn't see sense. He supplied him with answers to every one of his pointless inquires, valid explanations that fit what things had been building to, what he knew.

"Would you care to explain how several members of the Uchiha clan ended up dead in their home when they were supposed to be just leaving?" There was a slight edge, warning him against lying.

"They were collateral, an unfortunate accident," he said. "They died while Itachi was-"

"Don't lie to me." A subtle pressure was beginning to build at the back of Danzo's head. "I want the truth."

"Maybe it was a few rogue ANBU then-"

"Enough." The ANBU who delivered the report spoke up. "Danzo Shimura, you are under arrest for the murder of Fugaku Uchiha and others, and for covering up your actions."

"For suspicion," Danzo corrected him. "Unless you can provide adequate proof of my involvement, it remains as a suspicion." The ANBU looked at Hiruzen. He didn't move, keeping his gaze focused on Danzo. He took it as a sign to continue.

"While that is normally true, we already have enough proof. You ordered ROOT and ANBU to eliminate the Uchiha, and you had them attack all who opposed it." He took off his mask.

"I am not responsible for my subordinates. You of all people should know, Kakashi. You have acted without orders before." His annoyance bled through the words.

"However," Hiruzen stepped in, "in that case he was acting under my orders." Another bout of silence. An ANBU came in and handed a scroll to Hiruzen.

"From T&I," he said, before leaving again. He paused for a moment before opening it up. He read it silently.

"Danzo, I warned you not to lie to me." The faint pressure he'd been feeling increased. He searched for an answer.

"It's clear a genjutsu was performed on them-"

"Silence." Hiruzen was no longer the grandfatherly figure adored by the village. Now he was the man who Danzo had seen on the battlefield. He wasn't hunched over, and the warm glow from his eyes was gone, leaving a cold void. "Tell me the truth."

"I did what was necessary for Konoha," he said.

"I trusted you, Danzo. I even gave you a chance to come clean and you still denied it. How many other times have you looked me straight in the eyes and lied to me?"

"As many times as was necessary." His face remained impassive despite the aching pressure in the back of his skull.

"Does that include when I questioned you about Shisui?" It was a simple question. Danzo remained silent. "Kakashi, I want you to remove the bandages from his right eye."

"No," Danzo interjected.

"If you did not lie, then your eye socket should be empty as you have told me." Hiruzen cut him off. "Go, Kakashi." Danzo made a slight movement but remained seated. Kakashi took off the bandages and stepped away, revealing three tomoe against a crimson pupil.

"I have only done what I believe needed to be done for Konoha," he said. Hiruzen stood up and walked from behind his desk.

"Do you have any idea what you've cost the village?" He shouted, his fury no longer contained. "We could've been making peace with the Uchiha had it not been for your interference. I've trusted you too much, Danzo."

"Are you saying that ROOT has not done its part to defend us?" he asked.

"What I am saying is what you have done tonight is unacceptable. ANBU has effectively been put out of commision by your actions." He kept himself from shouting. "Do you know how much this has cost the village?"

"If Tsunade were here, they could be reinstated within a few days," Danzo commented. Hiruzen thought for a moment.

"Kakashi, send word to Jiraiya. Tell him to get Tsunade back to the village at all costs and discreetly if at all possible." Kakashi nodded and left. Hiruzen returned back to his seat, his anger spent. "I order you to disband ROOT until such a time that you can be trusted again."

"Dismantle my work?" It was Danzo's turn to be infuriated. "Do you know how much I have sacrificed to build ROOT? How much work we do for the good of Konoha?"

"This is your punishment. Do not make me repeat myself." His voice cut Danzo.

"Don't be a fool, Hiruzen. You're dooming Konoha by not sending ROOT to fix the Uchiha problem," he protested.

"It is only a problem because you made it one." HIruzen's anger returned to him in an instant. The room cracked slightly. "Do not forget who I am." Danzo flinched at the sudden outpouring of chakra. "You will be placed in a cell under constant supervision until Tsunade returns to remove that eye and you will cooperate." Danzo didn't say a word. "Get him to his cell." And the deed was done.

Danzo allowed himself to be led away. It couldn't be helped after all. He entered his cell without protest and sat down on the bench. He took a moment to gather his thoughts. Hiruzen had proven he still had that will that Danzo had seen decades earlier in the middle of the war, and that had stopped him from finishing his work.

It was clear that he could no longer be trusted to run Konoha. But he couldn't count on becoming Hokage anymore after what had happened today. Decades of planning and patience, wasted. So he was left with one option: he had to leave temporarily. Escaping would be easy. He had enough ROOT members throughout the village to ensure a clean getaway.

That would be for a later time, however. Better to lull Hiruzen into a sense of security. If he remembered Tsunade it would take Jiraiya quite some time to track her down and get her to come back to the village. He almost smirked. He had all the time he needed to plan, and it was thanks to Hiruzen's softness.

That left him with the problem of the Uchiha. Most of his spies were still in place, but finding and eliminating them were two very different things. He needed to act as quickly as possible to prevent them from getting more powerful, as Itachi had. He was no doubt incredibly popular among them for what he'd done tonight. It gave him an easy target. Take him out, and the whole clan would follow easily.

Danzo moved to his bed and laid down. It had been a very long day. The cot was uncomfortable, but still nothing compared to the war days. He fell asleep designing new machinations with which he'd become Konoha's saviour. His dreams were pleasant ones.